Bell's will not continue cooperation with League

THE distiller Bell's has confirmed it will not be renewing its sponsorship of the Scottish League and Bell's Cup when the current contract expires at the end of the season. League officials are now preparing to launch a campaign to attract a new major sponsor for their First, Second and, Third divisions and the Challenge Cup, which became known as the Bell's Cup. Over the last seven years Bell's invested over £5m in Scottish football and the decision to pull out is a serious blow. Bell's stressed it will continue to support the league throughout the final season of its sponsorship. Iain MacDonald, the whisky company's sponsorship manager, said: "It has been a very successful sponsorship deal. Bell's and the SFL have both taken a lot out of it. However, we feel it is now the right time to move on. We wanted to give the SFL as much notice as possible of our decision. As we move into the last year of the current deal they now have time to consider their options. During our final season we will continue to support the SFL and invest in the sponsorship as we have done in previous seasons."